MILAN, Italy — When Matteo Marzotto, stylish scion of the Italian fashion dynasty announced in February 2009 that he was acquiring the storied House of Vionnet, owned at the time by Arnaud de Lummen who had already had a go at reviving the sleeping beauty himself, the response from the fashion industry was simultaneously one of intrigue and distaste. On the one hand, a swarm of journalists and buyers packed into Marzotto’s Milan

MILAN, Italy — In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, luxury fashion brands found themselves scrambling to develop strategies for the so-called “new normal.” Logos and conspicuous consumption were out, it was said. Customers were now looking for understated luxury, value and discretion. And so, in uncanny lock-step syncopation, brands from Louis Vuitton to Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana began a strategic march to

MILAN, Italy — This season, BoF dipped its toes a bit deeper into the waters of the Italian men’s fashion scene, starting with Pitti Uomo and moving on to fashion week in Milan. And, as the fashion circus moves on to Paris tomorrow, my fashion fantasies are still lingering on the outstanding presentation by Raf Simons for Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2011 at the stunning Villa Gamberaia just outside Florence. It might not have

MILAN, Italy — On Saturday, 19 June at 3pm Milan time, 2pm London time and 9am New York time, The Business of Fashion is pleased to bring you the livestream of the Burberry S/S 2011 menswear collection. BoF is one of the selected sites from around the world — and one of only a few sites based in the UK — to stream the show, which this season sees the launch of Burberry Acoustic, a new ongoing initiative with emerging British music

VICENZA, Italy — Whereas Italy may have initially been slow on its uptake of Fashion 2.0, momentum appears to be building there to embrace digital media in all its forms, but especially fashion film. Indeed, two high profile events focused on moving image in fashion will take place in the month of May alone, bringing a much needed digital awareness to the country’s conservative fashion mainstream. Tomorrow, in Vicenza, is the

MILAN, Italy — The words “Made in Italy” have long been the pride of the Italian fashion system. But, in recent years, controversy has erupted as the Italian fashion industry has faced a crisis of confidence. In late 2007, a Rai3 documentary called Slaves of Luxury “revealed a slimy world of underpaid immigrant labour, huge price mark-ups, and what was portrayed to be undue influence from American heavyweights

FLORENCE, Italy — In the world of menswear, January is a full-on month of trade fairs and fashion shows. The super-charged schedule of activities begins with Pitti Uomo, continues on to Milan where mega Italian brands like Gucci, Prada and Armani unveil their collections, and concludes with a bang in Paris, where established Parisian fashion houses like Lanvin and Dior Homme show alongside a cornucopia of international designers

MILAN, Italy — Federico Marchetti is one of fashion’s online pioneers. In 2000, when Marchetti established Yoox.com, online fashion retail was still in its infancy. in 2008, the Yoox Group, which includes the original YOOX site, as well as white-label sites for 18 fashion brands, including Emporio Armani, Marni and Pucci, and thecorner.com, shipped more than 1.7 million products to over 53 countries around the world, with

MILAN, Italy - Take a walk into a Gucci store these days and one cannot help but notice the preponderance of logos and icons on almost every Gucci product in sight, especially the brand's leather goods, shoes and accessories. Horsebits, double G's, and Gucci crests abound. But, it seems the conspicuous logos are failing to resonate with consumers in these recessionary times. Rumours are circulating in Italy that Gucci has dramatically cut production orders to make up for waning demand for the Italian luxury brand's core leather goods offering. If the reports are accurate, it speaks volumes about the worsening climate for luxury goods players in general, but particularly for brands like Gucci which have chosen to follow an explicit…

MILAN, Italy - It is sad when fashion lives up to its cliched stereotype as a world without loyalty and common sense. News is breaking that Tomasso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, the celebrated duo behind the upstart Italian label 6267, have ditched their manufacturing partner, Castor srl, to start up a new label, rumoured to be backed by ITC, a division of IT Holdings. Earlier this year, the pair reached new heights in their fashion ascendancy when they were named Creative Directors of Gianfranco Ferre, which is also owned by IT Holdings. Shortly before the announcement, Castor and 6267 were featured in a highly complimentary article by Cathy Horyn of the New York Times, which touted the value and closeness…

MILAN, Italy - A few months back, I published an article about the Made in Italy label, following damaging findings aired in a provocative Italian documentary on the state of luxury manufacturing in Italy. In the meantime, there has been growing interest in the concept of ethical luxury, but some of the biggest manufacturers continue to flout the rules and standards. Just yesterday, a new reader of the BoF named Lauren, provided detailed commentary on our previous article Made in Italy | Time for accountablity regarding the egregious behaviour of major Luxury brands which she has observed first hand. Her observations merit further discussion and debate, and so I have included them here. As for this debate [on Made in…

In our ongoing collaboration with JC Report, we recently contributed two articles about some promising emerging brands, and we wanted to make sure BoF readers could learn about these talented young designers too. The first designer came to our attention when we spotted a friend sporting the coolest cardigan. When we asked who designed it we expected to hear the names Ann Demeulemeester or Rick Owens -- but instead came a name we had never hear before: Rivy Ng. Our article for JC Report discusses Rivy's international background and step-by-step approach to building his fashion label. This is definitely a label to watch for its discreet understated style and emphasis on quality. (Speaking of which, the New York Time has…

While London is often the spark of new ideas and New York is confidently commercial, the Milan shows usually sit somewhere in between. They may not be the pushing the limits of fashion in terms of new ideas, but they specialise in striking the right balance between commerce and creativity. Many buyers and editors complained of an uncharacteristically inconsistent offering from Milan's usually focused designers last week. But we think there was a lot to be impressed by in Milan, especially from the some of the heavyweight brands who show there. Take Burberry, for example. Christopher Bailey is on a clear winning streak, softening his approach this season with the perfect autumnal mood for the urban birds who walked down…